LSU’s Miles says Harris will continue to play QB

BATON ROUGE – Sophomore Anthony Jennings has taken an early lead in LSU’s in-season quarterback derby, but freshman Brandon Harris will continue to play more, LSU football coach Les Miles said at his press luncheon on Tuesday.

“I can tell you that the quarterback, in my opinion, functioned the offense and did the things that he was supposed to do,” Miles said of Jennings, who was 9-of-21 passing for 239 yards with two touchdowns in the Tigers’ 28-24 win over Wisconsin on Saturday night.

“He hit the passes he was supposed to hit, threw it away when he was supposed to throw it away,” Miles said.

Jennings also got better as the game went along as he hit four of his final six passes for 119 yards and a touchdown for an average of nearly 30 yards a completion.

“If he continues to play like that, I think that we will have a certain level of excellence at that spot,” Miles said.

True freshman Brandon Harris got only three snaps after entering the game with 4:21 to play in the second quarter and LSU down, 17-7. After an end around in which wide receiver Trey Quinn gained just two yards, Harris kept for a loss of a yard, then dropped back to pass and was quickly sacked for a loss of 10 yards. There was very little blocking on his entire series.

“I think Brandon Harris is coming,” Miles said. “We’re not going to pre-determine lack of playing time for him. We’re going to continue to bring him on. But it was obvious in that game that the opportunity for us to win was to get Anthony Jennings comfortable in there and let him play. And he did very well.”

The 1-0 Tigers, who moved up one spot to No. 12 in the USA Today poll on Tuesday, host lower division Sam Houston State (1-1) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. There is not a betting line on the game, but LSU is expected to win comfortably and have a chance to play a lot of freshmen in addition to Harris. His appearances will not be scripted, but Miles and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron plan to get him in based on feel of the game and situation. Field position, for example, is weighed. Harris entered the game Saturday when LSU got the ball on its 38-yard line to start a drive — its best field position starting point of the game at that time.

Miles particularly liked the way Jennings improved during the game and did not get frazzled. He bounced back from a frustrating start as he was 2-of-7 passing to start the game and would have been 4 of 14 for 40 yards in the first half without the 80-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Travin Dural.

“Well, I think he handled the frustration well,” Miles said. “I think that he obviously handled the opportunity to make plays. I think he sees the decision-making process much differently. I think he’s looking at it in relationship to a team and making quality decisions at his position.”

Jennings threw no interceptions. He was credited with a fumble, but that was on a pitch that tailback Leonard Fournette could have caught before retrieving for an 11-yard loss. On the next play, Jennings found wide receiver John Diarse, who broke three tackles and eluded a fourth for a 36-yard touchdown to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 24-19 with 12:08 to play in the fourth quarter. Jennings then hit Quinn for the two-point conversion after a LSU timeout so Jennings could get the team lined up correctly.

“There’s a lot to that quarterback spot,” Miles said. “You have to communicate to 10 guys. You have to get communications from the sideline. It takes experience. And frankly, Anthony handled that, considering a very loud, very enthusiastic crowd. It also is very difficult to hear.”

Fournette’s debut, meanwhile, “did not set the world on fire,” according to one reporter, who said that in a question to Miles, who got defensive. Fournette, the No. 1 tailback in the country out of high school, was held to 18 yards on eight carries.

“It was a season opener. It takes time for guys to understand exactly where that break is, where the cut is,” Miles said. “Just relax, don’t be impatient. He’s a freshman. This is a guy (Fournette) who is going to develop year after year, play after play. Just wait.”